Tasting notes:
Colour: Dark Amber
The nose is… well, what is this beast? Definitely a grain whisky nose, not too much corn sweetness, so I guess mostly wheat. But there’s more. As if it were a half and half mixture of grain whisky and Oloroso sherry.. Sherry finish for sure, but not as we know it. Dry and tannic, herbal, peppery, freshly mown grass, even a tad of sour grapes? Some caramel, dark chocolate, sour-sweet plums. The palate … well, where to begin? Once again, a dry sherry spiked with grain whisky, that’s what it tastes like. I found it too overpowering neat, but it improves with a generous splash of water. Dark, dry, nutty, tannic, herbal, grassy, bitter with a dark fermented fruit sweetness (lots of plums) in the background. The finish is rather short, clean, tannic, huge on the sherry influence.

Verdict:I see lots of people raving about this on Whiskybase, but I honestly can’t share their enthusiasm. It is definitely an interesting experiment, a young grain whisky finished in 50l Sherry Octaves. To me it was borderline drinkable neat, much better with lots of water, but it still tastes like mixing grain whisky with Sherry. I miss the finesse, I miss the sweetness when you combine malt whisky with sherry, I miss other aromas besides sherry. Nonetheless, most people seem to like it, so why not hunt down a bottle or a sample and try it for your self. It’s a novelty, that’s for sure.

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